Reflecting on my NBA in Paris excursion
When I first got to UF, I never thought I’d find myself in Paris for sports journalism. I had previous experience studying abroad with the College of Journalism and Communications, but when the opportunity to go to Paris arose, it only made sense for me to use this opportunity to apply all the skills I have learned so far in an international perspective. And this is exactly what I did.
Growing up, I had an international sports perspective from Latin America. In my country, Puerto Rico, baseball and basketball are huge. Coming to UF has already shown me a different perspective as football takes a major role in the sports culture. However, I have always been intrigued by the European perspective of sports and the way their culture embraces it. Through the lectures prior to the actual trip to Paris, I learned that basketball is a major sport in Paris along with soccer, my favorite sport. I also learned that Paris isn’t that big on sports, which is crazy to think about given that they just hosted the Olympics. The lectures really got me thinking and preparing to find out more when I got to Paris. My group and I decided to focus on what the sports fans think about the sports culture in Europe and what they think about the globalization of sports, given that many Western organizations are working towards expanding to Europe and all around the world.
I feel that the trip to Paris was organized well. There was a good balance between group excursions to learn about the culture in Paris, independent time to experience the country, and time for us to work on our projects. I was really worried about some challenges like technology and language barriers. Usually when working on a video project, I have camera equipment with external mics and other equipment. This time I was limited to a mobile kit that was able to fit in my luggage. I am glad to report that it worked really well. It shows that even a phone with some other equipment can achieve a similar result. When it came to the language barrier, it was tough to find Parisians and other Europeans who could speak English well enough to interview with us. In the end, however, we were able to communicate effectively with various people who we got quality interviews from and helped us gain insight into the perspective we were trying to capture.
It was mostly interesting to learn about what Europeans thought about American sports and the sports culture in general. Through our interviews, I learned that the availability of the NBA in Paris, although limited, is a big opportunity for fans of the brand abroad to engage with the organization, especially when it is very difficult and expensive for them to do otherwise. It was really cool to learn how the globalization of the NBA is impacting younger generations. My group was able to interview a young basketball player who was a part of the NBA academy in Paris. We also focused on the soccer culture in Europe, which just like other sports, is different than the soccer culture in the United States. This was further fueled by our attendance of a PSG vs Manchester City Champions League match, which was probably one of the most surreal experiences I have ever had and doesn’t compare to any sporting event in the US, besides possibly a very important NFL match. I feel that we learned overall that European nations would be very receptive of American sports. One of our interviewees even mentioned that he was intrigued by the arrival of the NFL in Europe. The conversations that we had convey that there will be success in the globalization of sports, especially if it continues its current trajectory.
Overall, it was an overall very fun trip. I think I was able to balance having fun with my peers and learning and getting my responsibilities done. Our group came from a diverse range of majors and ages, so it was fun to interact with different people I would otherwise not interact with. I felt that I was able to have moments of fun followed by moments where it was time to focus on the task at hand. There was definitely some hard work, just like any other course, but it was all worth it and I enjoyed every second of it. I would recommend this program to anyone who is considering it.
Category: NBA in Paris
Tagged: NBA in Paris Paris Sports@CJC Study Abroad
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